


Short Game

by J_J_Janson



Category: ROBOT x LASERBEAM (Manga)
Genre: First Dates, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 09:32:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15409992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_J_Janson/pseuds/J_J_Janson
Summary: Rion takes Robo out for a game of minigolf. It's clearly part of Robo's training, and in no way a date.





	Short Game

Robo and Tomoya sat together eating lunch in their classroom like usual when Rion entered the classroom. 

Startled, Tomoya let out a squeak. “Senpai?”

Rion nodded at Tomoya, then turned his attention to Robo. “Robo, are you free on Friday after practice? “

Robo looked away for a moment, trying to recall. After a second, he turned back to Rion. “No, I have no plans after practice.”

“Good. Then you’re coming out with me. You’ve improved your endurance considerably, but your short game still needs work. So I’ll put you through the ringer with a few games of minigolf. Meet me at the school gates after practice on Friday.” With that, Rion turned and left, only Tomoya noticing that his face was a bit red. 

Tomoya was no fool, and could even be considered genre savvy. So he asked Robo, “Do you think Rion-senpai just asked you on a date? Isn’t minigolf one of those tropey dates you’d find in a romance manga?”

“No, Tomoya, it isn’t a date. Rion-senpai didn’t ask me on a date, he asked me to go mini golfing with him. You read too much into things, Tomoya.” With that, Robo turned back to his food. 

All Tomoya could think was, ‘Good luck, Rion-senpai.’

***

Rion waited impatiently at the school gates. Had Robo stood him up? He sure hoped he hadn’t been stood up. Robo wouldn’t stand him up, would he? He was so scatterbrained he had probably forgotten-

“Hello senpai,” Robo greeted from directly behind Rion, who nearly jumped out of his skin. 

“You’re late,” Rion responded after his heart rate had leveled out, “So let’s get going.”

Rion impatiently took Robo’s hand to lead him. 

And was suddenly aware that he was holding Robo’s hand. 

Robo made no comment, obediently following after Rion, so the snarky upperclassman just kept holding Robo’s hand the whole way to the minigolf place he had picked out.

When they arrived, Rion quickly went to rent clubs and balls for the two of them. He was feeling embarrassed about having held Robo’s hand the whole way to the minigolf place. He’d liked it. But he was supposed to be Robo’s cool, stubborn upperclassman. He couldn’t like hand holding. 

Considering he’d dragged Robo here, the least Rion could do was pay for him, so he got everything they needed and led Robo out to the course. “Alright Robo. This place has three eighteen hole courses. We’ll be doing the third one, which has the highest difficulty. I’m going to throw you into the deep end.”

He led the way to the first hole. This was a simple one, par two, with a small sandtrap between the start and the hole. The goal was either to go around or try to go over the sand trap. With a sharp flick, Karasuma sent his ball spinning around the side of the sand trap, before rolling neatly into the hole. “Alright Robo, I know I just got a hole in one, but you should focus on going for par for now. You’ve got two shots, so use them both carefully.”

Robo nodded, set his ball on the turf, then stood back up. 

And promptly brought his club all the way up and swung with his full strength. 

The ball sailed to the other side of the minigolf park, nearly beheading an animatronic pirate on the pirate ship. 

Rion pinched the bridge of his nose, and rummaged through his pocket for some spare change. He handed it to Robo. “Go ask for another ball, and we’ll try this again.”

When Robo returned, Rion grouchily asked, “What are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to be funny,” Robo replied, totally deadpan. 

“What?”

“Tomoya told me that a joke is a good way to break the ice in ‘situations like this.’ I thought it’d be funny if I hit that pirate.”

That got a laugh out of Rion, all the tension melting from his features. “You got me good, Robo. Okay, now let’s try this for real.”

It took Robo five swings, but he finally got the ball in. 

Rion just stared in a mix of awe and horror. How could Robo snipe an animatronic pirate from a couple hundred feet away, but fail so badly at putting?

At the second hole, this one with a small bump between the start and the hole, Rion watched Robo’s hands and his eyes. Where he was looking, how he was holding his club, how he swung, gauging his actions. He did this for the third and fourth holes too. All were par two, but Robo usually needed around five hits to get the ball in. 

They arrived at the fifth hole, this one built on a hill so that the middle portion was at a steep incline, and the course was shaped like a U. Par two. Robo got ready to take a shot, but Rion stopped him. “Hold on a sec, Robo.” 

Rion came up behind Robo, grabbed his hands, and said, “Let me show you how to do this.” So, Rion carefully instructed Robo on what angle he’d wanna hit the ball and with how much strength. He carefully lined Robo’s hands up so that he could see. Then, Rion stepped back and Robo took the shot.

And scored a hole in one.

“There we go, Robo! Nice work!”

“Thank you, senpai.” Robo wasn’t smiling, but Rion could feel that intensity radiating from him. Robo was damn cool when he got like this.

Rion scored his own hole in one on the hole, and the two moved on to the sixth hole. “Senpai, could you show me again?”

Rion shrugged. This was why they were here. And getting to hold Robo didn’t even factor into Rion’s decision making. Not at all. Nope. This was just the most efficient way to train Robo. 

They went through the next few holes like that, and Robo managed to stay at or below par on all of them. He wasn’t consistently getting holes in one, but that wasn't the goal. His putting was improving remarkably. 

Around the fourteenth hole, Rion asked, “Hey Robo, you ready to try this one on your own?” 

Robo thought for a moment. “Yes, I think I can. But if I get it on par, could you hold me again? I like when you do that.”

Robo said that with a completely straight face, and it caught Rion off guard. He found himself stepping back in shock. “Wha?” 

“I apologize if that is an unreasonable request, senpai.” 

Rion shook his head. “No, it isn’t. Go ahead.”

So Robo did, easily staying at par on the hole. When Robo hit the ball into the hole, Rion came up behind Robo and hugged him awkwardly. “Like this?” 

Robo nodded. 

There was no way Robo hadn’t noticed Rion’s feelings. Even he couldn’t be that dense, could he? 

“Robo, I wasn’t entirely honest with you when I invited you out here. It was just an excuse to take you on a date.”

“Ah.”

“‘Ah?’ That’s it?”

“Well, I just didn’t think you could be interested in someone like me. No one ever has been before.” Robo said this, too, with a deadpan expression.

Rion tightened his hold on Robo. “You damn fool. You’re oblivious, stone-faced, and clueless about golf. But you make up for it by being stubborn as a mule, with an unsurpassed grit that lets you try some crazy things. How could I not fall for you?”

Robo didn’t know what to say in response, so all he could respond with was, “Thank you, Senpai.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still sad that this series ended so suddenly. It's a real shame. But I recently went minigolfing with my family and thought I'd whip up this little thing.


End file.
